AFRICA: The Liberian Unity Party has expelled its outgoing president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for allegedly meddling in last year’s presidential elections in which its candidate suffered a bruising defeat.

AMERICAS: In Peru, the recently pardoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori has been taken from his home in the capital to a hospital for observation.

ASIA: The North Korean regime offered to hold vice ministerial-level talks with South Korea to discuss the DPRK’s participation in the Winter Olympics.

EUROPE: Greek labor unions went on strike to protest further creditor-demanded measures due to be voted on in Parliament, disrupting public transport and services nationwide.

MIDDLE EAST: The United Arab Emirates said that an exiled member of Qatar’s ruling family who had appeared in a video recording saying that he was being held against his will had left the UAE.

TECHNOLOGY: Palestinians in the West Bank will soon be getting high-speed mobile data services, after a years long Israeli ban of 3G networks.

TOP STORY

Iraq: Twin suicide bombings kill 38 in Baghdad, in first major attack since declaration of victory over ISIS.

The attacks occurred in the crowded Tayaran Square, where more than 90 people were injured.

The two bombs were detonated in quick succession, a tactic designed to maximize bystander casualties.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, but the attack bears strong resemblance to similar strikes by ISIS.

Guinea-Bissau: Prime Minister Umaro Sissoco Embalo has submitted his resignation to the president, in a bid to end a two-year political crisis in the poor West African nation. (AFP)

Liberia: The ruling Unity Party has expelled it’s outgoing president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, for allegedly meddling in last year’s presidential elections in which its candidate suffered a bruising defeat. (Reuters)

Senegal: Police have arrested at least 16 people suspected of involvement in a January 6 massacre of 14 young men in the troubled region of Casamance. (AFP)

Somalia: At least three soldiers were wounded in a roadside blast on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu. (Xinhua)

AMERICAS

Guatemala: Security forces responded with pepper spray when demonstrators tried to approach the Congress building, where President Jimmy Morales was presenting his second state of the union report. (EFE)

Mexico: Veracruz Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes confirmed the deaths of 10 people in apparent clashes between criminal gangs, saying nine of the dead were dismembered. (AP)

Peru: The recently pardoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori has been taken from his home in the capital to a hospital for observation. (AP)

ASIA

Region: Pakistan’s military says Indian troops have fired across the border in the divided region of Kashmir, killing four Pakistani soldiers (AP)

Afghanistan: A United Nations Security Council delegation has wrapped up a three-day visit to the country. (Xinhua)

North Korea: The regime offered to hold vice ministerial-level talks with South Korea on Wednesday to discuss the DPRK’s participation in the Winter Olympics. (Xinhua)

Sri Lanka: Authorities have destroyed more than 900 kilograms of cocaine that was part of the country’s largest single seizure of the illegal drug. (AP)

EUROPE

Germany: The head of the elite paramilitary unit GSG-9 says it will be increased by a third and will open a second base due to increased terror threats. (AP)

Greece: Labor unions went on strike to protest further creditor-demanded measures due to be voted on in Parliament, disrupting public transport and services nationwide. (AP)

Norway: The Conservative-led government has agreed to include the small centrist Liberal Party in the cabinet, expanding it to three parties. (Reuters)

Poland: Public support for the ruling conservatives has risen as a recent government reshuffle helped ease voters’ dissatisfaction with Warsaw’s clashes with the EU. (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: The United Arab Emirates said that an exiled member of Qatar’s ruling family who had appeared in a video recording saying that he was being held against his will had left the UAE. (Reuters)

Israel: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “disappointed” by India’s refusal to back recognition of Jerusalem as his country’s capital. (AFP)

Palestine: President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said that Israel had killed the Oslo Accords, by asserting Jerusalem as its capital. (NYT)

Syria: The U.S.-led coalition is working with its local militia allies to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel in the northern Kurdish region. (Reuters)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Communication: Palestinians in the West Bank will soon be getting high-speed mobile data services, after a years long Israeli ban of 3G networks. (AP)